In the United States, hot dogs are a well known and widely used food staple. Literally, everyone has heard of, and at one time or another has most likely eaten, a hot dog. Not so well known, however, is the fact that superficial incisions into a hot dog can have several effects on the hot dog. These effects are both practical and aesthetic.
As a practical matter, incisions into the surface of a hot dog cause the hot dog to be cooked differently than it otherwise would be. For one thing, due to the incisions, the exposed surface of a superficially incised hot dog is increased. During cooking, this increased surface area causes heat to penetrate more quickly and deeper into the interior of the hot dog. This, in turn, promotes quicker and more even cooking of the hot dog. For health reasons, these effects of superficial incision may be very desirable. Additionally, while fat in a hot dog may be desirable for taste purposes; for the diet conscious, less fat than is normally present in a hot dog may be preferable. If so, superficial incisions into a hot dog will allow fat in the hot dog to be more easily drained away as the hot dog is being cooked. The result is a leaner hot dog.
In addition to the practical considerations associated with superficial incisions into a hot dog, aesthetic considerations also come into play. For many, incisions in the surface of a hot dog can be both eye-catching and entertaining. Further, superficial incisions can make the hot dog distinctive.
For high volume production of superficially incised hot dogs, it is clear that some device or apparatus is required. It is simply too time consuming and labor intensive to manually incise each and every hot dog in a high volume operation. Moreover, for many incision designs, it is extremely difficult to insure a uniform penetration depth for the incisions when they are made by hand. A superficial helical or spiral design on a hot dog is a case in point. In order to properly make a helical or spiral shaped design into the surface of a hot dog, it is necessary to rotate the hot dog during the cutting process. All the while, the pitch of the spiral incision must be maintained constant, and the penetration depth of the cut must be uniform. Doing all of this manually in a high-volume operation can be very exacting and tiresome.
Despite the difficulties to be encountered and overcome when establishing a high volume production operation for the superficial incisions of hot dogs, the practical and aesthetic advantages to be obtained can make the effort worthwhile. Further, while the discussion thus far has specifically considered the hot dog as a candidate for superficial incisions, it is to be appreciated that any sausage-like meat is suitable for consideration.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device and a method which can superficially incise prepared meat products, such as hot dogs, on a high volume basis. It is another object of the present invention to provide a device and a method for superficially incising prepared meat products with a helical or spiral design which establishes a constant pitch for the spiral pattern and which insures a uniform penetration depth for the incision. It is another objective of the present invention to incise a delicate meat product such as a hot dog or sausage at a very high speed, without deforming the round shape of the meat product or imparting cracks into the non-incised core of the meat product. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device for superficially incising prepared meat products which is easy to manufacture, simple to use, and comparatively cost effective.